How Mental Health Got Me Into Comedy

I've told this story a number of times at Curbside Comedy shows, but I’m not usually forthcoming with it unless I’m asked. However, this week I got a great question about mental health and how I deal with it. That naturally lead to me sharing my personal story of how mental health lead me to stand-up comedy.

I like to think that I'm a person who has some progressive ideas about mental health. I think we should be open about it. I think we should have conversations and learn about mental health and be understanding when our friends and family share their experiences. However, I'm still behind when it comes to putting actions behind ideals. I know I've struggled with my own mental health, but I've never sought out professional help because I've always been functional. Yet, there's a big difference between getting by and doing well.

The question about myself dealing with mental health this year set off an avalanche of awareness that I've never spent 15 solitary minutes considering my mental health and what I do for it. It's mostly been a minute here ad a minute there. But after 15 minutes in this episode you can see it really would benefit me to have a clearer plan of action for keeping myself mentally healthy. That's why I love the questions, and that's why I like asking the question, "What's up with me?"